"34769/10": Daniel Ricciardo's hilarious comment to the media after the 2023 F1 Hungarian GP qualifying 

Daniel Ricciardo was perhaps the happiest driver on the grid following the qualifying session of the Hungarian Grand Prix as he made his much-anticipated comeback to F1 with AlphaTauri. The Australian will start the race on Sunday in P13, after outqualifying his teammate Yuki Tsunoda, who crashed out in Q1.

In a post-qualifying interview with Sky Sports, Ricciardo was asked about how big was his smile was on a scale of one to 10 following the qualifying session. He replied:

"34,769."

The Aussie driver attributed most of that rating to his comeback and feeling comfortable behind the wheel. He further stated that the P13 finish is irrelevant as he did not know what to expect from this weekend, and that his only reference at the moment is his teammate Yuki Tsunoda.

He said:

“I had no idea where to expect to be on the grid, so the 13th place in a way feels somewhat irrelevant, My reference is Yuki for now, and I think he’s also — watching from the outside — a good reference, not only this year but I think already the second half of last year I could see with Pierre he was starting to be a lot more competitive."

The Aussie also said that he is not aiming for a points finish as is aware of how much he is yet to learn about the new car over the race distance at one of F1's most physically demanding tracks.

Ricciardo said:

“I’ve done probably only an eight-lap run or something at the moment. I think tomorrow there’s going to be a lot of things for me to learn in terms of tyre management but also the car — with fuel, as the tyres go off, I think I’ll start to probably discover a bit more about the car and obviously then in those conditions the weaknesses."

---

Red Bull's Sergio Perez happy to see Daniel Ricciardo back in F1

Sergio Perez thinks it "a shame" that Red Bull loaned Daniel Ricciardo to AlphaTauri for the remainder of the 2023 F1 season, given his fantastic work in the simulators as their reserve driver so far.

Perez also stated that axing Nyck de Vries from AlphaTauri was "quite brutal," adding that he feels sorry for the Dutchman. The Mexican said (via Speedcafe.com):

“Sometimes there are some drivers that have a bit more time than others just because of circumstances, Nyck was very unlucky that Daniel was available, so it was a good opportunity for Red Bull to put him in there."

He further stated:

“On the other hand, I’m also happy for Daniel. He is very motivated to be back, so well done to him. It’s a great opportunity for him.”